You Only Live Twice
by Taylor Durin
Summary: She wasn't sure why but Fate had chosen to fuck up her quintessential life and stick her in a time of magic, mayhem and misery. Reincarnation. OC/Sirius. JP/LE. AU. Twin. Marauder's Era.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns Harry Potter and I am clearly not her.

Summary: Darcy Evans, has a straight forward plan; survive through the war, save everyone she loves and defeat Voldemort -You know what they say about the best laid schemes of mice and men. OC/Sirius. JP/LE. AU.

A/N: So I got this idea as I was reading a Sirius/Hermione one shot. I'm not much of a writer but the lack of Sirius happy endings have kicked me into writing this. I adore Marauder Era stories but most writers go to all the trouble of changing everything only for the ending to be exactly the same and I've never actually read a story where Sirius and Severus both get a happy ending, I'm not saying that's going to happen but those two characters are my favourites, so you can throw everything canon out the window, because this is an AU.

**{YOLT}**

Glossy chestnut brown eyes effortlessly followed the storm known as Vivian Evans as she furiously ran about the kitchen; her mother was the most unorganised human being Darcy had ever met in either of her lives

"Have you seen my -"

"By the window" Darcy supplied, taking another spoonful of her cereal

A triumphant cry reached her ears before the routine kicked off once again. It was a rather amusing sight to see first thing in the morning; Vivian, fully dressed in her business suit jumping this way and that for a pair of shoes or a folder she'd misplaced, but after almost eleven years the sheen had worn off.

After finding her misplaced tie, Vivian hurled herself at Darcy, covering her head in kisses

"So gross" Darcy moaned, squirming away from the assault

"What would I do without you" Vivian beamed, mercifully releasing her iron hold from Darcy and taking a step back "how do you know where everything is?" she absentmindedly asked as she quickly put on her tie and fixed her blond hair back into it's tight bun

"Magic" Darcy shrugged, her lips pulling up at the edges as she finished off her cereal

Her mother simply smiled, kissed her on the crown of her head and ran out the door with a rather loud 'Bye' and an 'I Love You' aimed at the whole house.

With a shake of her head, Darcy placed her bowl in the sink and left the kitchen, intent on getting to her room and studying her notebook, her eleventh birthday was in three days - it was all about to begin.

"Alright, sweetheart" a voice called out from the open living room door and Darcy turned to see Hugo Evans, her dad staring at her from the living room.

She hadn't even realised he was home, "yeah" she smiled, changing her course of direction "perfectly fine" she added as she entered the living room.

Hugo was sat on the couch, numerous pieces of papers were scattered across the coffee table

"What are you doing?" she curiously asked, her dad was a journalist, not one of those gossipy ones that only wrote about the Kray twins, but a proper one and he was always working on something exciting

Hugo sighed, dropping his pen on the table "The moon landings" he tiredly said, leaning back on the couch

Darcy's brows shot right up, the Space Race was still one of the most talked about topics in the United Kingdom, perhaps even the world. "Do you think, the Soviet Union will do it as well?" she eagerly asked, practically leaping over her dad to sit next to him and get a glimpse at all the sheets.

"July!" She frantically called out, staring at the date her dad had scrawled down "Is that when they're going to launch it?"

Hugo gave her a tired smile "I highly doubt it but that's what my source says"

"That's brilliant" Darcy grinned as she madly poured over all the notes "Too bad were not in this" she frowned

"It's a stupid endeavour" Hugo remarked, taking the papers in her hands away from her and gathering them up "honestly, what do you get from putting a man on the moon?" he asked as he shook his head and clipped all the loose papers together

"National pride" Darcy firmly retorted

"See that's the difference between us and the rest of the world" Hugo smiled, running his hand through his neat red hair, completely messing it up in the process "we don't need to build up our pride or boast to the world how big and advanced we are - everyone already knows we are" he smirked

Darcy, gently shook her head "Of course they do dad" she agreed as she got to her feet "I have homework to do" she lied, as she traipsed over his legs and out the door.

When she was four, her parents had deemed the twins old enough to no longer have to share a room, and Darcy had been the one to voluntarily vacate their shared room, luckily enough, she got the room at the end of the hall whilst Lily was stuck between her and Petunia, it wasn't the biggest room in the house but it was the only one out of three that had a lock.

She quickly entered her room and gently closed her bedroom door, clicking the lock into place. She took a moment to listen out for any noises before moving across the room to take a peak out of her window, there were no new animals and no strange people, her street looked how it always did.

Some might call her slightly paranoid, since Darcy wasn't all too sure what she would even do if wizards and animagus' did start appearing out of thin air but she lived by the motto that you can never be too careful or as Mad Eye would say 'constant vigilance'

She took a moment to get her thoughts in order before she leaned under her bed and pulled out a worn leather book, the dark red clasp being the only protection from intruders, something she was desperate to rectify as soon she possibly could with magic.

She absentmindedly flicked through the book, in almost every page was everything she could possibly remember of this universe. As strange as it sounded, Darcy had lived another life, in another world, one where the Evans family were nothing more than characters in a book, a rather dark book at that, one were death and misery were as common place as the magic that was practised.

At first, when she'd been a newborn with the mind of a teenager, she'd thought she'd simply been reincarnated into a different family, one that was far more into the Harry Potter series then they should have been; she was just thankful she hadn't been stuck with a flowery name…..but then things began to happen, the accidental magic kind of things, objects she wanted would suddenly appear, her nursery wallpaper changed colours when she'd been mentally mocking the hideous pink colour and poor Petunia was found on the neighbours front lawn when all she'd done was try to remember that part of the book.

It's fair to say that her 'different family, same universe' theory went out the window pretty quickly and she began to realise that she was in fact in a world that should have been make believe.

Over the years Darcy had grown attached to her family, the idea of her parents and Lily dying and Petunia marrying that Durlsey made her physically sick. This was her universe now, her family and there was no reason she couldn't change everything, heck, her simply being alive had surely already changed things and so over the years Darcy had written down everything she knew in what she hoped was a rather complex code, from the current position of the five horcruxes, since Harry had yet to be born and Nagini had not been made into one to minor and major character deaths and then she'd split them up into two parts; 1) Things she could do whilst at Hogwarts and 2) Things she could do after Hogwarts

Under the first heading, their were five subheadings

Ravenclaws Diadem - Room of Requirement

Resurrection stone - Gaunt House

Severus Snape

Peter Pettigrew

Regulus Black

The first two headings were for horcruxes she could easily collect, whilst the other three were people she believed she had a chance at changing and thus changing everything. Severus Snape had been the one to tell Voldemort of the prophecy but his love for Lily had in the end meant he'd dedicated the rest of his life to saving her only son. Peter Pettigrew had betrayed those closest to him and spent the rest of his life as a rat before he helped return Voldemort to power, at this moment in time Peter was just an eleven year old boy that could have his whole life changed with a little help and then there was Regulus Black, the hero that no one knew of, everyone had assumed the younger Black brother had been killed in a Death Eater skirmish but he'd sacrificed himself for them all and Darcy desperately wanted to change his fate.

A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts, almost making her drop her book

"Hey!" a voice called out, rattling the door knob "Open up, Darcy"

As quick as she could Darcy stuffed the book under her bed and threw open the door, on the other side, her twin sister stood, impatiently tapping her foot.

"Finally" Lily breathed, snatching her hand "I have someone I want you to meet" she excitedly said, as she dragged her out of the room

"Ow" Darcy snapped, as she was dragged down the stairs and then forced onto the front porch, "There's no need to drag me" she complained, snatching her hand back, although they were twins, Lily and her were as different as night and day. For starters Lily was nice - to everyone, whilst Darcy liked to think of herself as reserved, although standoffish was the word her mother had rudely used, it wasn't just in personality they differed, although they were twins, they almost looked nothing alike, whilst Lily had fiery red hair and emerald green eyes, Darcy had golden blond hair and chestnut brown eyes, they had the same nose and facial shape, but that was about it.

"This" Lily grinned, turning her around "is my new friend; Severus Snape"

The boy standing on their porch gave her a nervous head nod and shuffled on the spot, stuffing his hands in his overlarge coat pockets

Unbeknownst to the two, Darcy was having a slightly major heart attack or was it an anxiety attack? All she knew was that her heart was furiously beating against her chest making it hard to breath

This couldn't be happening, she'd spent every day over the past 3 months in that stupid park, just waiting to accidentally on purpose bump into him, she'd had it all planned out and it was all for nought because Severus Snape, with his hooked nose and mismatched clothing was standing right in front of her.

"Darcy!" Lily snapped, clicking her fingers in her face

"What?" Darcy replied, getting her bearings, she swatted Lily's hand away

"She's not normally like this" she assured Severus "I met Severus at the park today" she explained, turning back to Darcy, her excitement level going from 0 to 60 in a second "Tell, her!" She demanded, eagerly looking at Severus

"But…she might not be" Severus nervously admitted, his eyes imploring Lily to understand "I've never seen her _do_ anything" he tried to explain, avoiding Lily's gaze

Lily gently laughed, her soft eyes reaching out to Severus' nervous gaze "Darcy can do way more then I can" she proudly grinned "Show him" she demanded, her eyes sparkling at the two of them

Darcy sighed, once Lily got an idea into her head, it was all but impossible to talk her out of it. She quickly looked around making sure no one was watching before she idly waved her hand over Severus enlarged and mismatched clothing, a clear picture of what she wanted in her minds eye, in a blink of an eye the clothes transformed and Severus Snape wore a fitted green jumper and blue jeans with a rather worn but fitting black jacket.

The boy stood utterly awe struck, his eyes roaming over his body

"See" Lily smugly grinned, throwing her arm over Darcy's shoulder "I told you Darcy was a Witch"

"A Witch?" Darcy asked, she'd of course known she was a Witch for years but one must play the part their assigned.

Lily jumped back in excitement "You won't believe this" she declared

Darcy raised a brow, her eyes going from one to the other "try me" she challenged

**{YOLT}**

Her door was thrown up and in a matter of seconds a pint sized human being was jumping up and down on her bed, repeatedly chanting "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

"I'm up!" she bellowed, dragging the cover over head, she tried to kick out at her annoying sister

"It's our birthday" Lily called out, side stepping her foot

"It's a Saturday" Darcy groaned, giving up on the kicking, she settled for burrowing down into her bed, her precious cover was suddenly whipped away, the streaming sunlight and brisk January air instantly assaulted her.

There was a moment of silence before Darcy raised her head, chestnut brown clashing with emerald green, "Run" she warned, Lily's eyes widened and then Darcy pounced.

She missed by inches, Lily swooped out the door and Darcy followed, by passing a startled Petunia, they bolted through the hallways, flew down the stairs and barrelled out the front door. Unbeknownst to the two, at that exact moment, a woman had raised her hand to knock on the Evans' door only to be bowled over by the twins. Lily hit her first and although she tried to stop, momentum and gravity assured that Darcy smacked straight into Lily, leaving all three in a mess of tangled limbs on the Evans' front porch.

The rather loud noise had the rest of the Evans' household out in seconds

"Girls!" Their mother snapped, her green eyes wildly going from the twins to the rather old lady on the ground beside them

Hugo bypassed the twins and reached out to help her, dragging her onto her feet, ignoring the repeated "we're sorry" from the twins

After untangling themselves, Darcy and Lily tried to help their father but were instantly swatted away by their mother "you two have done enough" she chided, going to help the old lady

"We're sorry" Darcy repeated, getting her first good look at the poor lady

"So, so, so, sorry" Lily adamantly repeated

Darcy's entire body went rigid, as she realised exactly what had just happened. They hadn't just knocked down some poor little old lady…they'd knocked down Professor McGonagall

"No harm done" Professor McGonagall assured, dusting herself off, although the steely look in her eyes had Darcy slightly alarmed, they hadn't even begun Hogwarts and she was sure her Transfigurations Professor already hated her.

"Is there anything we can do?" Vivian asked

"Actually" Professor McGonagall spoke "It's what I can do for you" she declared "May we go inside?"

Under normal circumstances, her mother would have demanded to know why, however since this wasn't under normal circumstances, her mother smiled at McGonagall and said "of course you can" shooting the twins a look that promised trouble later.

Her mother led Professor McGonagall into the living room and seated her in the recliner, the rest of the Evans' spread out around the coffee table.

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall and I have come to offer your daughters" here she gave Lily and Darcy a rather chilling look "a place at our school"

"You're school?" Hugo asked, "the girls already have their school placement for next year"

"Hogwarts isn't an ordinary school" McGonagall began to explain "it's a school of magic, your daughters" no chilling look this time as McGonagall's eyes were utterly focused on her parents "are Witches" she announced

A stark silence filled the room before Hugo nervously asked "Would you like us to call a Doctor?"

McGonagall was unruffled with the question "I assure you Mr Evans all my mental facilities are fully intact, you're daughters are Witches, as am I" she affirmed, taking out a piece of wood from seemingly nowhere, she gave it a quick flick and deafening sparks burst forth

Their were various reactions to that rather cool display of magic; Petunia jerked back in her seat, Darcy covered her ears, Vivian's eyes were as wide as saucers, Hugo's jaw went slack and Lily; Lily uttered one word, utterly mesmerised with the magic "Wicked."

Professor McGonagall explained everything; The Wizarding world, Hogwarts, the existence of magic and Darcy was proud to see her parent's take it all in stride

"I mean they've done unusual things" Vivian sighed, her eyes landing on Darcy "especially that one, do you know one time her entire nursery walls just changed colour! I was sure it was the stress, playing with my mind, never! not once, did I think magic"

"People rarely do" McGonagall assured her " and as I said earlier, we must get their school supplies in preparation for their first year" two letters floated over to them, Darcy grasped the one in front of her, in green ink were the words 'Darcy Georgiana Evans', she eagerly opened it up to see the exact same letter Harry Potter would receive twenty years from now.

Petunia spoke up for the first time that day "But, were suppose to go to the zoo today, they have a new aquarium tank"

"Petunia" frowned Vivian, "We can go to the zoo any day" she shook her head "This, well this is unbelievable"

"We can go next weekend, can't we?" Darcy asked. All Petunia had talked about this entire week had been the zoo and she felt slightly bad about it being cancelled.

"Of course we can" Vivian smiled, "Now get your coats"

McGonagall stayed in the living room, whilst the Evans' family grabbed their coats from the coat closet, her mother had been the quickest, zipping right back to the living room as if afraid McGonagall would disappear if they took their eyes off her.

Lily grabbed her arm pulling her back before she could re-enter the living room

"What?" she asked

Lily's response was to shove her Hogwarts letter under her nose

"I have one of my own" she replied, confused at the behaviour

"Look" Lily sighed, exasperated "right there", Darcy looked at where she was pointing and saw the word '_Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress__'_ neatly written

She turned to see Lily's fearful green eyes "We knocked down the Deputy Headmistress" she breathed in a tone that clearly conveyed how fucked they were.

**{YOLT}**

Diagon Alley was far more magical then Darcy could ever have possibly imagined; words didn't do it justice.

She could feel the magic in the air as McGonagall dragged the Evans' family from store to store, explaining what each one was in careful detail; They opened a Gringotts account and their mother almost got into trouble for trying to touch a Goblin, they got their robes from Madam Malkin's, where Petunia had asked and been denied the chance to try on a robe, they got their school books from Florish and Blotts, where their father almost lost a hand to a book. By the time they went to get the rest of their various school supplies, the Evans' family had learnt to simply stand in one place and say and do nothing.

They were currently in Magical Menagerie trying to pick their school pets

"We can get one cat and one owl to share" Darcy suggested

"That's a good idea" Lily nodded, inspecting the various animals hanging on the walls "that one's cute" she declared, pointing at a rather ugly cat, it seemed to be a mixture of two breeds that should never have been mixed.

"It's hideous" Darcy concluded

"It has personality" Lily defended "Can't you feel how special he is?"

The cat was staring at them, it's unyielding gaze boring down at her, "you can keep that beast" she conceded, afraid that if she denied the request, the thing would jump through it's cage and slaughter her.

They walked around for a good ten minutes before Darcy spotted the perfect owl; it was no Hedwig but the owl was strikingly beautiful to Darcy, it had soft brown fur and chestnut brown eyes identical to her very own.

"It's perfect" she declared, as they walked out the store

"Not as perfect as our cat" Lily argued

"Is that all, Professor?" Hugo broke in before an argument could erupt

"Almost" McGonagall sighed, her body practically screamed someone come save me, "We only have the wands left"

"Wands!" Lily cried, her body thrumming with excitement

"Where?" Vivian asked, practically hopping on the spot, for a moment Darcy wondered if she could pretend she didn't know either of the two but sadly resigned to the fact that her and her mother looked far too alike.

Professor McGonagall sighed and with a shake of her head led them to Ollivander's Wand shop.

"Welcome, welcome" Ollivander called out as soon as they entered the store, it looked exactly as Darcy had expected it to with stacks and stacks of shelves hung in every available space "now what do we have here?" Ollivander asked, his head going back and forth from Lily to Darcy

McGonagall thankfully spoke up "Lily and Darcy Evans need their wands Mr Ollivander"

"Well of course they do" Ollivander agreed, conjuring a tape with a jerk of his wand "hands up" he chirped and immediately they both held their hand out in front of their bodies.

Ollivander studied the two measurements before disappearing between the shelves

"Odd fellow" Hugo quietly whispered, Vivian instantly shushed him "he can probably here you" she fretted, "we don't want him to give the girls dodgy wands because he feels slighted"

Ollivander returned at that point with two separate wand cases "you, the red head, you first"

Lily tentatively took a step forward, grasping the wand offered to her, "don't just hold it, give it a wave" Ollivander said

Nervous, Lily gave it a quick wave and the air in the room instantly warmed as the sickly looking flowers in the vase on Ollivander's counter sprung to life

"Ha" Ollivander trilled, "Willow, ten and a quarter inches, I knew that was your wand the moment I laid eyes on you girl" he vowed "It's rather swishy, good for charms" he added

Lily's eyes had widened to unbelievable proportions, her emerald orbs were attached to the wand

"Move aside girl" Ollivander ordered "You" his eyes landed on Darcy, "Get up here" in a dazed manner Lily moved aside and Darcy took ahold of the wand in Ollivander's hand, the moment her fingers wrapped around the wood, an invisible force threw Ollivander backwards, slamming him into one of the many shelves in the store, she instantly released the wand, letting it clatter to the ground.

Ollivander was up in seconds, dusting himself down "that my dear, is most certainly not your wand"

Rather stunned, Darcy felt the best course of action would be to simply nod her head.

Ollivander summoned the wand back to him and gave it a perplexed look, "Dogwood with Dragon heartstring" his eyes flickered to Darcy "seemed like a good match" he muttered lowly "no worries, Ms Evans" he smiled "your wand is here somewhere" he proclaimed "it's just a matter of finding it" he smiled.

When Ollivander returned, he had six wand cases "Let's give these a try" he quipped.

Hazel wood, with a core of Unicorn hair; she changed the colour of everyones hair and Petunia burst into tears.

Hornbeam wood with a Phoenix feather for it's core; The flowers in the vase withered

Hawthorn wood with a core of Dragon heartstring; she glued herself to the floor

Blackthorn wood with Unicorn hair; there was no reaction at all

Larch wood, with Phoenix feather for its core; she cracked the vase, sending the dead flowers tumbling to the floor.

Pear wood with a Phoenix feather core; it shot a painful stinging sensation up her arm, causing her to drop it.

The sides of Ollivander's mouth twitched "Don't be too disenchanted my dear, wands are picky things, the ones that seem the right match, never are" he said as he collected the six wands, "I wonder?" he suddenly asked, a strange look on his face, his gaze locked on Darcy, analysing her from head to toe, "Just a moment my dear" he said as he went to the back of store once more

"Why's yours taking so long?" Petunia frowned

"How would I know?" Darcy asked

"Is it normal?" Lily asked Professor McGonagall

"It's perfectly normal" McGonagall assured them "some people instantly find their wand and others can take a long time" her eyes went to Darcy, and their was something there, something that McGonagall was quick to hide that told Darcy how long she was taking wasn't as normal as McGonagall was declaring.

"Right" Ollivander returned "Holly wood with Phoenix feather as it's core" he declared, gently taking the wand out from it's case, Ollivander was different with this wand, his body held tension that previously hadn't been there and his eyes held a strange gleam, unlike the others Darcy knew that that particular wand, _Harry's_ wand, was one of Ollivanders' favourites, it was the brother wand to one owned by a man that was fast becoming infamous in the wizarding world.

Darcy firmly gripped the wand and gave it a swish, she was violently hurled backwards, saved from smacking into the door by McGonagall's quick wand work. She tentatively opened her eyes and realised that she was frozen in midair.

"Good thinking Professor" Ollivander called out as McGonagall lowered Darcy to the floor, her chilling gaze showing the world exactly what she thought of the wand maker.

Ollivander's gaze latched on to Darcy "aren't you the interesting one" he quipped as his eyes darkened, he finally looked away, turning his back to them all, his eyes scanned the shelves as he heatedly muttered under his breath. His eyes snapped to Darcy once or twice before he slowly walked away, disappearing amongst his shelves

"What a absolute nutter!" Lily proclaimed and even Vivian was far too much in agreement to scold her.

After what felt like hours, Ollivander finally returned with a singular wand case, their was a strange hop to his step and a look in his eyes that made Darcy pray to Merlin that this would be her wand so she could run and never return

"I think I may have found your wand Ms Evans" Ollivander spoke, passing the wand across the counter.

Apprehensively Darcy opened up the case and froze for just a second when she got a glimpse of the wand. It was long, at least 11 inches, with a smooth handle; it was almost pure white, so much so that she suspected it was Ivory wood, as if he could read her mind Ollivander spoke, his voice low and ominous "Aspen wood; with Dragon heartstring, it is a wand suited to martial magic"

Slowly, very slowly, she took hold of the wand and the second she did so, she felt a rush of warmth shoot up her arm and the air around them sizzled. One moment all was still and the next a stream of fire works shot out of the wand, the noise deafening in the store; shelves toppled over, wand casings burst open, and the store windows shattered raining glass down upon them, it was only McGonagalls' quick wand work once again that saved them from any injuries, it seemed to take forever for everything to stop and go deathly silent

Instead of being upset like most store owners would have been, Ollivander, beamed from ear to ear, "This, dear, Ms Evans" said Ollivander, so quietly, as if not to disturb the silence that consumed the air around them "is a wand for revolutionaries"

**{YOLT}**

AN: So that's the first chapter, hope you enjoyed it and next chapter, we have some Severus Snape bonding, a rather interesting train journey, a Sorting and the first few days of Hogwarts. I already have this story planned out, they'll be three parts, part 1 will deal with Hogwarts yrs 1-4, their will be major time skips in part one. Then part 2 will cover the rest of the Hogwarts years, 5-7 and this is where we get some major Sirius and the war heats up and then part 3 will deal with life after Hogwarts and the war. For those of you wondering why I haven't made this Severus/Lily it's because I'm a sucker for James but don't fret Severus lovers, good things will come his way.


	2. Chapter 2

YOLT

"Soooooo" Darcy spoke, her eyes desperately looking across the park for a topic to fill the awkwardness, "Where do you live again?" she blurted out, her cinnamon coloured eyes landing on the young boy that was sat on the swing next to her.

"Spinner's End" Severus mumbled, shifting in his seat, his eyes darted from pillar to post, looking at anything and everything except her

"That's nice" she shrugged and then mentally smacked herself as confused charcoal eyes finally glanced at her, out of all the words in the world she could have used to describe Spinner's End, nice was definitely not the right one "I didn't mean nice…I mean it _is_ a nice place to live but I didn't….ehh" she nervously stammered as those eyes practically seared her flesh with every word she spoke "never mind" she sighed, mentally cursing at Lily for leaving her in such an awkward situation.

Her twin had made plans to meet the boy but had gotten roped into helping their mother with some chores, Lily had in turn roped Darcy into keeping Severus occupied until she arrived. It had been less then a week since she'd met the boy and in that small time she'd never been left alone with him.

"So" surprisingly it was Severus who spoke up this time, his demeanour still screamed at how uncomfortable he was with the situation but his dark eyes held a glint of determination.

"Lily talks about you all the time" his words were perfectly pleasant but it held an almost indecipherable hard edge.

"We're sisters" Darcy supplied, it was perfectly natural for sisters to talk about one another

Severus tilted his head, his eyes showing their confusion "she doesn't talk about your other sister all the time" he frowned, the bitterness in his tone easily detectable this time.

"Petunia's older" Darcy shrugged "and Lily and I are twins, we've spent almost every moment of our lives together"

Severus' frown deepened, his eyes darkening and it was at that moment that Darcy began to understand exactly why.

Severus Snape was jealous - of her.

Or more accurately, her relationship with Lily.

It really shouldn't have surprised her, from what little she could remember Lily had been Severus first friend, his closest ally but this time around, things were different. Darcy had entered the world and essentially usurped his place in Lily's heart. _He _wasn't Lily's best friend because _she _was.

A twinge of guilt fluttered in the pit of her stomach and for the first time since she'd met him she took in Severus without the shadow of mean Professor Snape tinging her view

He wasn't small for his age but he tended to hunch his shoulders which made him look smaller then he was, his crooked nose wasn't as noticeable as she had imagined at first glance. It fit his facial structure rather well and his dark eyes were framed by even darker lashes, making them stand out, he wasn't naturally pretty but Severus was by no means average looking.

There was an air around him that she didn't like, he looked like the world had beaten down on him until it had simply gotten bored of it and that was not okay with Darcy.

She had two options, she could continue to awkwardly sit next to the boy until Lily came and saved them both or she could try and be his friend.

Now for most people making friends was as easy as breathing, for Darcy, it was a strange and foreign battlefield that she'd gladly skip over, her school guidance counsellor had kindly described her as anti-social, leaving the word unlikable hanging silently in the air between them.

"Lily really likes you" she tried, Lily was their neutral point, something they could both talk about.

Severus startled back in surprise, his whole face lighting up with delight, before his eyes narrowed in suspicion

"And" she continued, not letting him faze her "I hope you and I can be friends as well" she held up her hand in the empty space between the two swings.

Severus was as stiff as a board, his eyes glanced from her hand to her eyes and then back again, she could practically feel the doubt and apprehension coming off him in waves and yet, his arm darted forward and he clasped her hand.

"I'd" his mouth opened and closed for a few moments "I think I would like that" he managed to get out, nodding his head.

"Brilliant" she beamed, her mega watt smile lighting up her entire face, this making friends malarky wasn't all that hard after all.

Severus replied with a small smile of his own

They fell into a comfortable silence before Severus spoke up again.

"You're owl" he began, as he brushed his hair out of his eyes "does it have a name?" he asked

"I named her Artemis" Darcy grinned "she's a real beauty, far better looking then that thing Lily calls a cat"

"Yes, but then anything is better looking then that cat" Severus said matter of factly.

Darcy burst out laughing and Severus' cheeks tinted red, his mouth turning up at the corners

"I tried to warn her" she shook her head "but she insisted and I swear the thing was threatening me with its eyes"

A new and familiar voice called out "Apollo is the sweetest cat ever, he wouldn't harm a soul" Lily mock glared at the two as she entered through the park gate

"Of course he wouldn't" Darcy easily agreed, the sarcasm dripping from her voice

"He's a complete angel" Severus added, just as heavy on the sarcasm

Darcy's eyes widened in surprise and Lily paused mid-stride "You can't gang up on me" she cried, dramatically holding her hand over her heart "Sev you're my friend" she declared, "so you should be on my side"

Darcy had expected Severus to agree but in that moment he said something that would utterly change his future and he would never know it. 

"I'm both your friends" Severus declared, his eyes nervously going to Darcy, she grinned back at him and he sat up straighter in his seat, shoulders back with his head held high.

"I'm glad" Lily smiled and for the first time that morning, Darcy wondered if her sister had set the whole thing up "after all I need my two best friends to get along" Lily grinned, green eyes twinkling at the pair

Yep, Darcy thought, her evil twin sister had most certainly planned it all.

YOLT

As February came to an end the winter chill refused to abate; it was far too cold to sit in the park even wrapped up in their coats and scarves and so over the past few days, Darcy, Lily and Severus had taken to spending their time at the Evans household.

The three were sat on Lily's bedroom floor, in the middle of a game of Monopoly.

"I already know all I need to know about Hogwarts" frowned Severus, snatching up the dice from the ground "Hogwarts, A History is a load of useless information" he expressed, as he rolled the dice, it landed on the number five and Severus moved his little piece, five steps forward.

"No it isn't" Darcy adamantly refuted "It's very informative" she snapped, her eyes daring Sev to contradict her, the boy saw the look in her eyes and rolled his eyes, choosing instead to pass the dice to Lily

The corner's of Lily lips tugged upwards, as she tried not to smile "So what informative information have you learnt?" she asked, as she accepted the dice from Severus, far too amused at Darcy's expense.

Darcy buried the urged to throttle her sister and friend "the four Houses" she quipped, Sev began shaking his head "there's loads of important information about them" she protested

"I already know what House I'm going to be in" Severus replied, with a hint of snark in his tone.

"Do we get to pick?" Lily asked, the dice in her hands long forgotten.

"No" Darcy exclaimed. "Which is why it's important to know about all four, the pros and cons of each House"

"Everyone knows Slytherin's the best House" Severus interjected

Lily's eyes shown with curiosity "Is that the House you want to be in?" she asked

Severus nodded his head "it was my mother's House" from what little Severus spoke of his family, she knew he adored his mother.

"Regardless of that fact" Darcy interrupted "Slytherin is not the best House" Severus scowled but before he could interrupt she continued on "one House isn't better then another, they all have a specific quality that's good for each individual"

"Like what?" Lily asked

Darcy smirked "if you read Hogwarts, A history you can find out all for yourself"

Lily groaned, throwing the dice in her hands right at Darcy, who ducked at just the right moment

"So what House do you want to be in?" Severus asked, the corners of his lips turned downward as he tried not to frown

"They're all good" Darcy diplomatically stated "But Gryffindor is my preferred option"

Severus' almost frown morphed into a complete one, "that's perfect, if you'd rather be brawny instead of brainy" he scowled

"Don't the brainiacs go to Ravenclaw, here I thought you wanted to be in Slytherin" she challenged.

Brown eyes clashed with black, neither willing to back down.

"Who cares what Houses we end up in" Lily announced "we'll all be best friends no matter what" she declared with such confidence that it was hard to doubt her.

An image flashed through Darcy's mind, a sprawled out fifteen year old Severus screaming _mudblood_ at Lily. The Gryffindor, Slytherin rivalry had had a massive part to play in that incident.

Life would be so much simpler if Severus ended up in another House, far away from Voldemort's recruitment centre but looking into those dark eyes, she knew she'd never change his mind.

"You're right" she grinned, letting go of the tension in her body, Severus marginally relaxed, "we'll always be friends, no matter what" she promised.

YOLT

Petunia, Darcy had realised, had been acting rather odd the past few months. Although she'd never been super close to her oldest sister, they'd still spent quite a lot of time together but ever since 'Witch-Gate' as Hugo had started to call that fateful day, Petunia had gone out of her way to avoid the twins and considering the fact that Darcy wanted a close relationship with her and was desperate to change her Dursley filled future, that was going to have to change.

Which was why Darcy found herself knocking on Petunia's door at the beginning of April; Instead of a hello or a come in, the door was violently flung open and Darcy was face to face with her sister.

Petunia had a strange face, separately all her features were pleasing, she had a nice nose and nicely shaped eyes but once everything was put together, the result was rather jarring, pretty was not the word that came to mind when she thought of Petunia.

"What do _you_ want?" Petunia snapped

Pleasant was another word she'd never use as well

Beating back her irritation, Darcy's features contorted until she was widely grinning at her sister.

"Ew" Petunia frowned, that one word wiped the smile right off Darcy's face, "You look weird when you smile"

"Well you look weird all the time" Darcy snapped back.

Petunia took a step back into her room and grabbed the door

"Wait!" Darcy called out before she could have the door slammed in her face "I wanted to spend time with you" she earnestly spoke

The twelve year old was only about three inches taller but it was enough of a height difference for Petunia to frown down at her "Why?" she asked, suspicion clear in her blue eyes.

"You're my big sister" Darcy shrugged

Petunia's blue eyes, bored down at every inch of her, from her tippy toes to the her head, after what felt like hours the girl finally moved aside "I suppose you can help me" she sighed

"Help you with what?" Darcy asked, stepping into Petunia's room. Unlike Darcy's sea blue room and Lily's pale pink, Petunia's room was a bright yellow that she'd chosen when she was around five and had spent the past year begging their parents to change.

Petunia suddenly grabbed her shoulders and squeezed hard, "you can't tell anyone about this" she snapped

"I won't" Darcy growled, throwing Petunia's bony arms off her

"Not even Lily and that _boy_" she scowled

Darcy rubbed her shoulder's, she had half a mind to tell Petunia to shove her demands but in the end she agreed "I won't" she grumbled

Petunia sat down at her desk and pulled out a piece of paper from between two notebooks. She'd clearly hastily thrown it in there when Darcy had come knocking.

"I'm writing a letter to that Headmaster" Petunia explained

"Dumbledore?" Darcy asked, vaguely remembering something along those lines happening in the original timeline, but it'd been far too small an incident to bother taking much note of.

"That's the one" Petunia smiled, "You can read over my letter" she proudly declared, shoving the thing under Darcy's nose

"Why are you writing to Dumbledore?" Darcy asked, taking a hold of the letter, it was fairly short and straight to the point "You want to go to Hogwarts?" she asked, her tone was nice and calm but she was mentally scrambling for a way to put Petunia off the idea, Petunia's rejection to Hogwarts had certainly helped fuel her jealousy towards Lily in the original timeline.

"Well why not?" Petunia asked defensively "if you two can get in then why can't I?" she demanded

One look into those icy blue eyes, told Darcy that the obvious answer of you're not a Witch would only get her thrown out of Petunia's room

With a sigh, she took the spare seat by the desk "If I had a choice I wouldn't go" she lied

Petunia's eyes widened "Why not?" she asked

"Magic seems nice" she said, trying to come up with a good reason "but there's a whole secret world that controls it, they could do anything to us and mum and dad can't help at all, Lily and I are going to be all alone up there" she frowned, intensely scrutinising Petunia for any sign that she was being swayed "besides, I thought you wanted to be an artist, you can't be one if you spend all your time waving a silly stick around" she smiled

"Perhaps" Petunia began, taking the letter back, "I should re-think sending this"

"I think that would be a good idea" Darcy agreed, trying very hard to hide her delight.

YOLT

"Seats buckled?" Hugo asked, his eyes scanning them all through the rear view mirror, a chorus of 'yes' filled the car and soon after the family of Evans plus one Severus Snape were off to Kings Cross station.

"It was really nice of you to let me come along, Mr and Mrs Evans" Severus said from his seat between the twins

"No need to thank us, my dear" Vivian smiled at him from her seat at the front "we were already heading there, it just makes sense for us all to go together"

Darcy turned her face towards the window, so that no one would see her smirk. It had taken a good few days of pleading for her parents to agree to let Severus tag along. They'd argued that they knew nothing of the boy; who his parents were? what school he went to? basic information such as that.

With the help of Lily, they'd managed to simply wear out their parents, with the deal that they would pick up Severus from his home and make sure it was alright with his parents.

To Darcy's surprise, it hadn't been Severus' mother waiting for them outside their front door but his father.

Tobias Snape was a wolf hidden in sheep's clothing; he was handsome and charming, and he said all the right things but even if Darcy hadn't known that he had a thing for beating his wife, she'd like to think that she would have immediately picked up on it.

The car pulled to a stop, easing her out of her mind. The small group disembarked from the car and made their way inside.

"It's just through there" Severus said, indicating the brick wall that led to the platform.

The Evan's family halted their progress, pulling up short right in front of the brick wall.

"A brick wall?" Vivian exclaimed, eyes as wide as saucers

Severus looked a little unsure of himself at their reactions but quickly nodded "It's not a real brick wall" he slowly explained, his hands nervously pulling at the bottom of his plaid shirt.

Hugo was the first to get his bearing backs "alright then family" he loudly called, his eyes going to each member of the family "Let's do this" he smiled.

"I can go first, if you'd like" Severus offered, his fidgeting slightly better than it had been a second before

"I'll go with you" Lily announced, as she pushed her trunk closer to Severus who instantly perked up. "On the count of three" Lily smiled, getting into position

On three the two of them ran straight into the wall and disappeared

"Come on Petunia" Hugo beamed, pushing Sev's trunk forward

Petunia looked slightly green as she hurtled through the wall, followed closely behind by Darcy and Vivian.

The small family plus Severus quickly moved out of the way; weaving their way through the large crowd of kids and parents until they came to a stop halfway down the platform.

They stood utterly still for a moment, eyes glued to the red, gold and black of the Hogwarts express.

"Now that is a train" Lily admired, breaking the silence and before Darcy could even realise what was happening she was being hugged to death by Vivian.

"Time has gone so quick" she cried, her death hold only tightening, making it very difficult to breath "you must write" she demanded, smothering Darcy's face with kisses "at least once a week"

"Mum!" Darcy managed to wrangle out, furiously squirming, Vivian instantly released her with only the tiniest bit of guilt on her face "I'll write, I promise" she managed to say, rubbing her sore arms as she took a step back and Lily became Vivian's next victim

An arm landed on her shoulder and she looked up to see the smiling face of her dad "she's going to miss you far more then she wants to admit" he softly smiled "we all will" he leaned down so that he was at eye level and brushed her hair out of her eyes "Take care of yourself" he implored "and if you ever want to come home then you can" he smiled, unable to hide the sadness in his green eyes

Darcy wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug "I'll be fine" she promised "I'll miss you more" she vowed, pulling back.

Emerald green eyes connected with cinnamon brown "impossible" Hugo declared, a small smile on his face as he fully released her and stood up

A quick and rather uncomfortable goodbye to Petunia followed before the trio left to board the train.

It was rather early, so there were still a large number of students outside still saying goodbye meaning that the three didn't have to walk long to find an empty compartment. With the three of them it was rather easy to put their trunks away and Severus immediately excused himself to go change into his robes.

The moment Darcy took the seat by the window, the compartment door opened; surprisingly it wasn't Severus returning but another boy.

"Sorry" the boy began "But could I perhaps share this compartment with you?" he was rather short, Darcy noted, with floppy blond hair, watery blue eyes and a button nose. He looked rather adorable, with his crisp white shirt and black slacks, all that was missing was a tie and he'd look like one of those sales men that always knocked on their door.

Lily replied before Darcy could speak "Of course you can" she smiled and the young boy exhaled, stepping into the compartment.

"Thanks" he smiled "This is the third compartment I asked, I was so sure you were going to say no"

"What a horrid thing to do" Lily frowned "You're most definitely welcome here"

The door opened once more and this time it was Severus, who upon noticing the new boy, froze in place by the compartment door.

"Severus" Lily smiled "This is-" Lily looked at the boy, realising she had no idea what he was called

"Peter" the boy supplied, a nervous smile on his face

"Peter" Lily repeated "I'm Lily, this is Severus and that is my sister Darcy"

Peter nervously glanced at them all "It's nice to meet you" he finally spoke

Darcy quickly morphed her surprised expression into a more pleasant facade, he hadn't given them a last name but her gut instinct told her that this rather adorable, floppy haired, little boy had in another time grown up to be a cowardice, portly, rat of a traitor. One she had promised herself she would try and save.

"Why's he here?" Severus frowned; he hadn't moved an inch since he'd laid eyes on Peter. He stood rigid by the door, eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest.

Peter visibly shrunk, taking a nervous step back.

"Severus!" Lily snapped, appalled by his behaviour.

It was Severus' turn to shrink, as furious forest green eyes glared down at him.

Realising things were beginning to take a turn for the worst, Darcy stood from her seat. Peter's nervous eyes darted towards her as she drew closer to him; he shuffled in place but didn't step back.

"Thought you might need some help" she offered, placing a hand on his trunk.

Peter was struck silent for a moment, his eyes wide before he relaxed; his shoulders deflating from the lack of tension.

"Thank you" he hurriedly replied, his blue eyes lighting up a shade as he took the other side of his trunk and together they managed to place it up on the rack. From the corner of her eyes, Darcy could see Lily forcing Severus to sit down, her eyes making it clear that he better be on his best behaviour.

"So" Lily began, once they were all seated, her and Severus on one side and Darcy and Peter on the other. "Where are you from?" she asked

Peter looked rather nervous, his eyes were mostly glued to the floor but every once in a while he'd lift them to quickly look around the compartment.

"I'm from Northumberland" Peter said, with what Darcy could only describe as an anxious smile on his face

She felt rather sorry for the boy, whilst this was all new to her, she had Lily and Severus by her side, Peter was all alone.

"We're from Lincolnshire" Darcy supplied, a pleasant smile on her face.

Lily leaned forward "Do you live in a wizarding town?" she asked, mildly curious.

Peter looked slightly surprised but answered "Yes, Alnwick, but it's a rather small wizarding community, nothing like what you would find in London."

Severus for the first time since he'd returned to the compartment looked interested, "Are you a Pure-blood then?" he asked

Peter, who was beginning to relax, slightly tensed up "Yes" he answered, his left hand rhythmically began tapping on his knee "but...but, it doesn't really matter" his smile was rather strained "It's the 70's , after all"

Darcy took in the rather twitchy, eleven year old, she'd always planned to try and help Pettigrew. To try and change his future but he'd never been all that high on her list, there were too many unknown factors when it came to Pettigrew; had he valued his friendship with the Marauders? Had he simply cracked in fear? or had he always harboured such vile beliefs?

For the first time in her life, Darcy felt rather hopeful for the future, she had already begun to change Severus' future and perhaps changing Peter's wouldn't be as difficult as she had expected.

The rest of the journey to Hogwarts although stilted at times had gone off rather pleasant, no one but the trolley lady had entered their compartment and all conversational topics were kept light and easy.

Once the train had pulled up, the four stuck close together as they were violently shoved and barged by upperclassmen, after she'd been elbowed for the third time; Darcy promised that throughout her seven years, she would treat little firstie's like the small helpless children they were and not the annoying pests as one student had snapped at them, they were presumed to be.

"Firs' yers!" a voice boomed echoing across Hogsmeade station "Ove' here, fris' yers!" From her position on the platfrom, Darcy could easily make out the large man.

"What is that?" Severus asked, terrified eyes latched on to what could unmistakably only be Rubeus Hagrid.

"I have no idea" Darcy replied, eyes as wide as saucers as she took in the half giant. Their was a big difference between reading about a large man and actually gazing at one, Hagrid was utterly terrifying in stature.

"Come on" Lily demanded, tugging at her arm "They're going to leave without us" she complained, marching forward.

After a moment's pause, the other three followed.

"Gather 'round!" Hagrid called out, shooting them a large grin that showed off every single one of his teeth and turned what he had likely assumed was a gentle smile come off as unsettling. "Now, we're gonna take those boats" he pointed behind him to the row of boats lined up on the lake, "across the lake and beneath Hogwarts herself" he told them, beginning the trek down to the lake "Four to a boat" he added, as his large frame took up an entire boat.

Darcy followed the crowd, pulling her robes closer around her frame to ward off the chill that had descended. She nimbly climbed onto the boat and took the seat next to Severus, Peter followed on her heels and sat across from her. In a matter of moments, the boats began to move of their own accord, Hagrid leading the small group across the lake.

Hogwarts was a magnificent sight to behold, in the dark September night, the castle was a beacon of light, with towers and battlements that seemed ablaze, all around her Darcy could see the looks of wonder and awe.

Disappointingly, it was a short trip and soon enough the boats were beneath the castle. Hagrid led them all out the boats, through quite a few stairways and then far sooner then she had expected, they were stood in front of the doors that led to the Great Hall.

She barely had time to get nervous, for Professor McGonagall appeared just seconds after Hagrid had bid them goodbye.

As McGonagall began her speech, Lily's hand clasped her own, her nervousness although not easily detectable, was quiet clear to Darcy. She gently squeezed their clasped hands, assuring her twin that she was just as nervous.

The doors to the Great Hall opened with a flourish; steeling her nerves, Darcy marched in with the other first years.

Darcy felt an unexpected sense of calm come over her, as a wave of magic seemed to envelop her very being. The Hall was awash with magic, from the enchanted ceiling to the seated students, it didn't have a physical form, nor any indicators to suggest it was there, but Darcy could _feel_ it, it was like a charge of electricity, it hovered in the air, twisting and turning, accomplishing whatever task it was set.

She was entranced out of her thoughts by Professor McGonagall, who had begun to call out names.

"Avery, Jeremiah"

A dark haired boy broke from the crowd and with stiff shoulders made his way to the Sorting Hat.

As Avery walked, Darcy gave the Head Table a once over, their were those she could immediately recognise; Hagrid, with his great beard, Slughorn with his overt girth and Dumbledore with his mere presence.

From her position in the crowd, Darcy could just about feel the magic coming off the man, it felt like charges of electricity that died off after they gained an inch or two.

Darcy mentally stopped short, looking from Dumbledore to the other Professors, they were all discharging magic to a degree, but not like Dumbledore, whilst Dumbledore's magic, flowed in a continuous never ending vibrant wave, the other's felt stilted and slow, their magic came out in sporadic short strained bursts, before she could think on it any further, the Slytherin table coolly applauded and the boy, Avery, visibly relaxed, removing the hat, he all but sauntered over to the House clad in green and silver.

"Belladona, Euan" Professor McGonagall called out next

A boy with wild red hair jerked out of the crowd, taking slow measured steps, it took him an age to make it to the stool.

The Hat had just touched the tip of his head when it called out "Ravenclaw!" the House applauded their new member but Darcy could hear a few titters and quiet groans coming from Ravenclaw House.

Euan Belladonna seemed to notice no such thing as he happily took his seat amongst the Ravens.

"Black, Sirius" McGonagall called out next and it was only with slight trepidation that Darcy searched the crowd.

A boy with dark brown curly hair that reached his shoulders, practically swaggered to the stool; she was surprised she hadn't noticed him sooner. At the young age of eleven, Sirius had this aura of confidence that made it difficult to look away from him.

Right before the hat was placed on his head, Sirius winked at the crowd of first years and then disappeared under the hat, a few grins and chuckles emitted from the Hall and Darcy

caught McGonagall sighing, most likely hoping Sirius wasn't placed in her House, those hopes were dashed when the Hat called out "Gryffindor!"

With only the smallest hint of surprise, that was quickly masked away. Sirius hopped off the stool and made his way to the House of the Brave, unlike the previous two Houses, who were apathetic at best towards their new members, Gryffindor House burst into enthusiastic applause, warm heartedly embracing their newest lion.

"Bryony, Clementina" McGonagall called out, their were a few snickers at the name and it took a moment for the girl to break away from the other first years and make her way up the stool.

The first thing Darcy noticed was her small stature, the girl was perhaps the shortest eleven year old she had ever seen, even smaller then Peter; the second was how she walked, she skipped to the stool and turned to face the Hall, bowing before taking her seat.

Giggles and snickers made their way through the Hall as the Hat was placed on her head. Seconds passed and then a good minute before the Hat opened its mouth and called out "Ravenclaw!"

The lackluster applause wasn't enough to cover the few groans from the Ravenclaws and the quiet cheers from a few of the other Houses. The girl seemed nonplussed as she skipped to the right table and sat beside her fellow first year.

McGonagall called out Anne Crowe, who went to Hufflepuff. Dabney, Helena, joined Ravenclaw. Duket, Marnie went to Slytherin and Levi Eckhart, also went to Hufflepuff before it was finally her turn.

"Evans, Darcy"

Darcy squeezed their clasped hand and shot Lily a reassuring smile before she broke away from the crowd and marched up to the stool, she had no time to take in the faces staring up at her before the Hat was placed on her head, obscuring her vision.

Unlike the cool charged electric like feeling she had associated with magic, the Hat felt different, less ready for action and more tranquil

"Tranquil?" a voice snorted in her head "That's a new one"

Darcy froze in place, taken aback by the suddenness of the situation.

"You're a strange child" the Hat continued, she could feel it's magic, sifting through her mind, prodding memories and discarding them just as quickly "rare for one so young to be so _aware_ of the magic that surrounds them"

It was the tone in his voice that made her ask "Is it a bad thing?"

"No, no" The Hat reassured, "It use to be quite common centuries ago, you see, but now, not so much, the last time I sorted someone like that was about three hundred odd years ago" As he talked she could still feel him in her mind; perusing through her past, what she said, how she said it, it all seemed to greatly matter to him, before she could question him, the Hat called out "Gryffindor!"

The Hat was whipped off her head and the first thing Darcy noticed was Gryffindor House widely cheering, she happily got to her feet and made her way there, she was seated across from Sirius, shaking hands with various Gryffindors when McGongall called out the next name

"Evans, Lily"

Darcy shot her twin a reassuring grin and Lily's nerves seemed to somewhat settle down, she quickly made her way to the stool and it only took seconds for the Hat to bellow out "Gryffindor!" before McGonagall could take the Hat, Lily had whipped it off, taking the Professor by surprise and quickly walked off the stool towards the Gryffindor table.

Lily happily shook hands as she took the seat by Darcy her green eyes gleamed in the candle light, "I was so nervous" she admitted

"It all worked out" Darcy assured her. She hadn't been sure what House she would end up in but Gryffindor was as good as any.

The Sorting continued and as far as Darcy could tell, her actions so far had created no major ripple effects. Peter went to Gryffindor, along with the rest of the Marauders and Severus joined Slytherin, although she was pleased to note that when she turned to face him, he gave her a small grin and a quick wave that she easily returned.

When the Sorting came to an end, Dumbledore rose to his feet, "Welcome to those of you who have just joined us and welcome back to those of you returning" his blue eyes twinkled, as he looked over them all "You must all be hungry and so I shall make this short and to the point" he smiled "I would like to remind you all that you are prohibited from using magic in the corridors and that a list of all the rules, should you wish to peruse over them, are hung up in Mr Filch's office" his eyes settled on a pair of girls at the Hufflepuff table, who didn't look the least bit embarrassed by the attention.

"I would also like you to help me welcome, two new additions to our staff" he smiled "It is with great sadness that I must inform you that our beloved History of Magic Professor, Professor Binns, has chosen to retire from his post" a few cheers rang around the Hall but Dumbledore continued on, "Professor Kemp" a woman rose from the Head table, she was strikingly beautiful with long dark hair and even darker eyes but what made Darcy straighten her spine was the strange feeling that the woman gave off, her magic felt odd, not wrong or anything, just really, really, odd.

"And our new Defence against the Dark Arts Professor; Professor Delvaux" a man with dark ebony skin, broad shoulders and high cheekbones, gracefully rose from the Heads table

"I would like you all to give them a Hogwarts welcome" Dumbledore said.

The Hall burst into applause as the two Professors sat back down "now that all the pleasantries are out of the way" Dumbledore smiled "Let us eat"

With that declaration the empty plates and cups filled to brim with food and water

"Wow" Lily breathed

"That was impressive" Darcy grinned, eyeing the chicken and gravy in front of her, it had been a long day after all and all she wanted now was good food and a warm bed, plotting to save the world, could wait until morning.

—

YOLT

—

AN: I was planning to at least get the first few days of Hogwarts by the end of the chapter, but these characters had a mind of their own, oh well, see you guys next time.


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